MUBI

Many people in american cinema point to ‘The Treasure of the Sierra Madre’ when it comes to films which expose the grotesque side of greed. I would propose that ‘Touchez pas au Grisbi’ is a the perfect example of how a man allows greed to creep in a corrupt their judgement after coming into a large sum of money.It causes paranoia and distrust in a much more believable way than any other film I’ve seen, and the tension builds and builds into the final gun battle which is masterfully shot. The film is laid out in a fairly straight forward manner which makes it easy to follow and understand, but even so the themes and events which take place are deeply poetic and introspective. It can be picked apart and psychoanalyzed on an interestingly deep level.

Becker’s cinematography is something to be marveled at. If you want to see a classic piece of film noir then you won’t find any better than this film. It’s highly stylized black and white world with so many beautifully shot scenes which are both foreboding and intriguing at the same time. Jean Gabin gives a legendary performance with all his cool and control. It’s not only an affective story, it’s a marvel to look at.

My only problem with it as a whole is that it is unfortunately too neat and tidy. I would’ve liked to see a little more chaos in this nicely ordered story. I feel it would’ve added more suspense if they had just muddled up the plot a little bit. This is admittedly a small complaint, but I feel it would’ve added a lot to the film as a whole. Even still, it is an excellent noiristic film with plenty to love.

Classic Jacques Becker gangster saga, bridging the gap between “Pepe le Moko” and “Bob le Flambeur”, with a never better Jean Gabin as an aging old time thief whose final score is supposed to set him up for retirement, but Lino Ventura’s brash dope dealer has something to say about that. Becker takes pains in detailing the lifestyle of the slightly-less-than-petty Parisian hood, from the nightclubs, back room dealings, private eateries, underground storage garages, and private hideaways (where gangsters, yes, brush their teeth and sleep in neatly folded pajamas), where friendship, which Melville would champion to levels of greater tragedy, is put to the test by scheming double-crosses and mistrust. As Gabin continues to bail out his long time partner, a patsy played with poignancy by Rene Dary, his dreams of an easy retirement are foiled by Ventura and his deception, and from a pulp Serie noire novel by Albert Simonin all about the language and the aura of the gangster, Becker makes a film primarily about unspoken love between best friends, which at its core, is certainly stronger than eight stolen bricks of gold.